Kid Flash Investigates
by freddylloyd
Summary: Bart Allen wants to prove himself—first as babysitter for the West kids, then as investigator of an attack on the family. Written in comics script form, each chapter eight pages long. The first installment also posted as "Best Babysitter Ever!"
1. Best Babysitter Ever

**Best Babysitter Ever!**

PAGE ONE (four panels)

Panel 1. WALLY and LINDA WEST are discussing their evening plans in their kitchen. WALLY flips at super-speed through an address book. In the background, a visiting BART ALLEN looks up from his late afternoon snack.

WALLY:

I've called _all_ our usual sitters--Leonie, Chris, Patrick, even Franny. All _busy_. What about Jim and Carol's daughter?

LINDA:

She's got a motocross tournament.

BART:

_I_ could look after the kids for you.

Panel 2. LINDA and WALLY continue their discussion, ignoring BART, who has stood up.

LINDA:

Do you _have_ to go out tonight?

WALLY:

I've had this JLA monitor duty on my schedule for a _month_.

LINDA:

And I've been working to land this interview for _two_ months.

BART:

Guys! I could babysit!

Panel 3. LINDA looks dubiously at a business card that's been stuck on the fridge for a year. BART reenters with an armful of books from the WESTs' parenting shelf.

LINDA:

What about trying one of those services? The kids won't know the sitter, but…

BART:

I've read everything that Dr. Spock ever wrote! And Dr. Brazelton! And Dr. Leach! I know what to expect when I'm expecting!

Panel 4. WALLY and LINDA turn and respond to BART for the first time.

WALLY and LINDA:

No!

•

PAGE TWO (eight panels)

Panel 1. BART is looking a little hurt, and LINDA tries to explain more gently.

LINDA:

We're _parents_, Bart. We _worry_.

WALLY:

That you're not mature and responsible enough.

Panel 2. BART protests.

BART:

I totally am! I am I am I am!

LINDA:

And this is precisely the sort of situation when something horrible will happen.

Panel 3. LINDA elaborates with the jaded attitude of someone who's seen how the DC Universe works. BART is still insistent, WALLY still skeptical. In the background the twins, IRIS and JAI, look on with interest.

LINDA:

As soon as we leave, some rogue will attack, or a dimensional portal will open, or the world will start to end.

BART:

But that's why I'm your best choice--I know how to handle that stuff! I already saved the whole universe!

WALLY:

So you keep saying.

Panel 4. IRIS tugs on her mother's arm.

IRIS:

Mom, Dad, we think Bart can stay with us.

BART:

See!

Panel 5. JAI speaks up as well, and BART reacts by pouting.

JAI:

Yeah, we're old enough we don't need a _real_ babysitter.

Panel 6. LINDA capitulates, and WALLY goes along with her since time is passing. BART grins.

LINDA:

*sigh* All right, Bart. You're hired.

Panel 7. LINDA is in the middle of giving BART a long list of instructions. He looks on vaguely and politely, but his thought balloon shows that his mind is busy imagining JAI and IRIS giving him a trophy.

LINDA: …can each choose one piece of _fruit_ for dessert--_no candy, no extras_. Bedtime is at _nine o'clock_ precisely. Iris needs her ponytails combed out…

Panel 8. The JAI and IRIS in BART's thought balloon are happily speaking the words that make up the story title.

JAI and IRIS:

_BEST BABYSITTER EVER!_

CREDITS under title balloon.

•

PAGE THREE (six panels)

Panel 1. BART is playing a videogame with JAI, and winning, as IRIS looks on.

BART:

Yes! Ha! Gotcha! _Ha!_ Booyah--new high score!

Panel 2. JAI sulks a bit as BART walks away from the console in triumph.

JAI:

You're supposed to let the little kid win!

BART:

Really? Okay, we'll play another game after supper, and I'll let you win.

Panel 3. JAI and IRIS follow BART into the kitchen.

JAI:

It's no fun if I _know_ you let me win!

BART:

Then why'd you _tell_ me?

IRIS:

That's something grownups are supposed to _know_.

Panel 4. BART and the twins are in the kitchen. BART peers into the cupboards.

BART:

Oh. Anyway, what do you want for supper?

IRIS:

Macaroni and cheese!

JAI:

Hot dogs!

Panel 5. IRIS and JAI bicker while BART peers at a box of macaroni and cheese.

BART (murmur balloon):

"Serves 4"?

IRIS:

_Mac and cheese!_

JAI:

_Hot dogs!_

Panel 6. BART holds up his hand for silence and attention.

BART:

_I'm_ the grownup in charge here, so _I_ decide. And I choose…

BART:

…both.

•

PAGE FOUR (four panels)

Panel 1. BART, JAI, and IRIS are all seated at the kitchen table, eating supper. In addition to a large salad bowl, IRIS has a bowl of macaroni and cheese, JAI has hot dogs, and BART has big plates of mac and cheese _and_ hot dogs. A surprisingly large number of dirty dishes, pots, pans, and cooking implements are stacked up on the counter behind him. A fruit bowl sits on the table.

BART (eating sounds):

Nom nom nom nom.

JAI:

I don't think that's what Mom expected you to decide.

Panel 2. BART has finished his meal while JAI and IRIS are mostly through theirs.

BART:

Hey, I let both little kids win.

BART:

Your mom said you could each choose a fruit for dessert.

Panel 3. The kids try to wheedle more out of BART, who once again acts all adult.

JAI:

Can I choose fruit _ice cream?_

IRIS:

_Chocolate's_ a fruit, right?

BART:

Chocolate is made from the _seed_ of the cacao tree, a tropical plant native to the South American rainforest. But you mom left very _specific_ instructions--

Panel 4. Laser-wielding ninjas cut holes through two sides of the kitchen, startling BART and the kids.

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt!

BART:

--which don't cover this situation at all.

•

PAGE FIVE (five panels)

Panel 1. Overhead shot. There are now four ninjas at different corners of the kitchen, all holding mechanical devices on their shoulders. Three of those devices are lasers. The fourth looks very much like a television camera with a small satellite dish. BART is zipping around, trying to shield the kids from each of the bad guys with his body.

BART:

No lasers in the house!

BART:

Especially at dinnertime!

BART:

Someone might lose an eye!

IRIS:

I have an idea.

Panel 2. IRIS runs over and stands between two of the laser-wielding ninjas.

IRIS: Go on and shoot. I dare you!

Panel 3. IRIS is yanked down out of the frame by BART's hand while the ninjas fire their lasers, hitting each other and thus taking each other out of action.

SFX:

Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

NINJA 1:

Ow!

NINJA 2:

Yipe!

Panel 4. In a crouch, BART hustles IRIS back over to JAI.

IRIS:

Hey! I was ready to _vibrate!_

BART:

You still have a lot to learn.

Panel 5. BART bustles around, grabbing the devices off the shoulders of the last two ninjas, knocking one out.

BART:

Laser beams travel at the _speed of light_, and, even though their wavelengths stick to a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum, their energy flows are _intensely concentrated_.

BART:

Which means--trust me--it really, really _hurts_ to try to vibrate through laser beams!

•

PAGE SIX (five panels)

Panel 1. BART holds the laser and camera triumphantly as JAI peers at them.

JAI:

How come one of those is a camera?

BART:

It is?

Panel 2. BART grimaces as he accidentally sets off the laser, zapping the bowl of fruit.

SFX:

Zzzzt!

JAI:

Not that one.

Panel 3. BART confronts the only one still conscious, who for reasons that will become apparent later we call PETER. With his mask off, he's revealed as a young white man only one or two years older than BART.

BART:

So what kind of ninja home invader carries a camera?

PETER:

What I really want to do is direct.

Panel 4. JAI plays with the camera as PETER explains to BART.

PETER:

The Tumbler Gang gave us all that equipment and told us to take hostages here. That camera's set to broadcast on a Justice League frequency, so the Flash will see it.

Panel 5. BART frantically washes dishes in the sink with a big nervous smile for JAI's camera as IRIS takes over the interrogation of PETER.

BART:

But everything's fine here! Just a normal evening in the West household without any ninjas or lasers or extra desserts at all!

IRIS:

So our dad was _supposed_ to see you guys breaking into our house?

PETER:

That was the plan.

•

PAGE SEVEN (six panels)

Panel 1. JAI points the camera at the nervous PETER while IRIS and BART look on, BART's face showing that he's trying to puzzle things out.

JAI:

You were trying to get our dad mad _and_ show him exactly where to find you. That's a really _stupid_ plan.

PETER:

Well, the four of us didn't have a lot of input.

Panel 2. BART has an inspiration and takes charge again.

BART:

Ooh, I get it! I get it!

BART:

This Tumbler Gang wanted to _use_ you four guys to _distract_ the Flash so they can try something somewhere _else_. Where? What? Who?

PETER:

I'm not supposed to tell you…

Panel 3. BART in his Kid Flash outfit races up to a large building in Keystone City, interrupting a robbery by three costumed crooks.

CAP:

"…that they're robbing the Keystone Precious Metals Exchange."

Panel 4. BART runs rings around the three crooks, subduing them before they even get into the building.

Panel 5. The blue lights of a police car appear in the distance as BART stands over the three roped-up crooks. In the foreground, IRIS and JAI show up in their costumes, IRIS pulling a wagon with JAI, bulked up, inside holding the first three NINJAs tied in a bundle.

IRIS:

Got 'em!

JAI:

Booyah!

Panel 6. BART hustles the twins and their empty wagon home.

BART:

Home! Home! Home!

JAI:

We wanted to help, too.

IRIS:

Yeah, let the little kids win!

•

PAGE EIGHT (four panels)

Panel 1. WALLY and LINDA, back from their work, approach their front door. The house is dark and quiet.

WALLY:

…on the run all evening--no time to even _look_ at the monitors. You?

LINDA:

Good footage, plenty to edit. And our house is still standing.

WALLY:

That's right. Keep your expectations low.

Panel 2. WALLY and LINDA have entered the dimly lit house. LINDA is gazing fondly at something out of the front of the panel. WALLY is reacting with mild surprise.

LINDA (whisper balloon):

No matter what, kids always look cute when they're asleep.

Panel 3. WALLY and LINDA's view of BART on the sofa in open-mouthed slumber while IRIS and JAI look up from their videogame on mute in the background. They're wearing their uniforms as pajamas (no gloves, boots, or masks).

WALLY (whisper balloon):

I'm still going to kill him tomorrow.

Panel 4. LINDA puts a blanket over the sleeping BART as WALLY leads IRIS and JAI to their bedrooms.

WALLY (whisper balloon):

Come on. Bedtime was an hour ago.

JAI (whisper balloon):

Can Bart come the _next_ time you go out?

IRIS (whisper balloon):

He was the best babysitter ever!


	2. Bart Allen, Detective

**Bart Allen, Detective**

PAGE ONE (five panels)

Panel 1. WALLY WEST stands in his kitchen, speaking to someone out of the panel. He wears the Flash uniform, but has pushed the headpiece back, leaving his face and hair visible. Some damage from the previous night's incursion of laser-carrying ninjas is visible behind WALLY, but he's already plugged the holes in the exterior walls.

WALLY:

Irey, Jai, Bart--they all say one of the ninjas told them this "Tumbler Gang" had planned the attack for when I was on monitor duty.

WALLY:

They wouldn't make up something like that.

PANEL 2. DICK GRAYSON stands in the West kitchen in full Batman regalia.

DICK:

I know.

DICK:

So this gang knows who you are, knows a Justice League broadcast frequency, and knows our monitor schedule.

DICK:

We need to talk to Bart.

WALLY (off panel):

Bart!

Panel 3. BART ALLEN appears in the doorway from the living room. He wears ordinary clothes and a peeved expression. Behind him stands DAMIAN WAYNE in his Robin outfit.

BART:

Where's the _real_ Robin?

DAMIAN:

I _am_ the real Robin,…

Panel 4. As DAMIAN continues to rant, BART starts to twirl his finger at super-speed toward the younger boy. DAMIAN's cape and hair are pushed by the resulting wind.

DAMIAN:

…you hyperactive _freak of nature_.

Panel 5. DAMIAN is blown back onto the couch by BART's mini-whirlwind.

DAMIAN:

_Ooof!_

BART:

Where's the _real_ Robin?

•

PAGE TWO (six panels)

Panel 1. DICK looks on as BART sits at the kitchen table and starts eating grapes from a fruit bowl scorched by a laser.

DICK:

Red Robin's working in Europe.

BART:

Okay, that's cool. So what're we gonna do about this Tumbler Gang I caught?

Panel 2. DICK, still standing off in a corner of the kitchen, tries to debrief BART as WALLY looks on.

DICK:

You said _four_ men broke in here, and _three_ are in jail.

BART:

I let the last guy go.

WALLY:

Of course.

Panel 3. BART, still holding the grapes, stops eating long enough to justify his decision.

BART:

He wasn't carrying a laser, just a _camera!_ And he told us everything! So I made him a confidential informant.

DICK:

Do you know his name? His whereabouts?

BART:

Uh, we kept those things _confidential_.

Panel 4. WALLY rolls his eyes while DICK continues to look sternly at BART, who's gone back to eating the last grapes.

WALLY:

That's not how it works, Bart!

BART:

Okay, I know that _now!_ I'm ready to learn a lot from working with you guys.

BART:

Batman doesn't seem nearly as big and scary as the last time we teamed up.

Panel 5. DICK is suddenly standing right behind BART, looming over him (though not quite as tall as Bruce Wayne loomed, of course). BART senses his presence and freezes nervously.

DICK:

Really?

Panel 6. BART has zipped out of the panel, leaving only a whoosh of wind and an empty grape stem hanging in the air. DICK smiles at WALLY, and one of the Batman eyeholes is closed as he winks. WALLY laughs silently.

BART (off panel):

I should check on the kids!

•

PAGE THREE (five panels)

Panel 1. JAI WEST and DAMIAN WAYNE are about to arm-wrestle on the coffee table under IRIS WEST's supervision. DAMIAN Is tall for a ten-year-old. BART has zipped over to the sofa and sat down very neatly, still spooked by Batman.

IRIS:

On three. 1…2…

Panel 2. JAI, suddenly all bulked up, slams DAMIAN's hand down on the table.

IRIS:

…3!

SFX:

Slam!

DAMIAN:

Hey! You used powers!

IRIS and JAI:

Duh.

Panel 3. DICK strides through the living room on his way out, speaking to WALLY, who stands in the kitchen doorway. DAMIAN gets up to follow, still steaming. BART's eyes are tracking Batman, but otherwise he's not moving a muscle.

DICK:

Our only lead is the men in custody. I'll arrange an interrogation.

DICK:

Let's go, Robin.

DAMIAN (muttering):

About time we blew this freak show.

Panel 4. BART appears at WALLY's side with his Kid Flash uniform on, tugging on his second glove.

BART:

Okay, so we've split into _teams_. What'll you and I do?

WALLY:

Please, Bart. Leave this to the Justice League.

Panel 5. WALLY turns away from BART, who looks miffed at what he just heard.

WALLY:

You can't solve a case like this by just running off in whatever direction occurs to you. You have to _think_.

•

PAGE FOUR (six panels)

Panel 1. BART in full Kid Flash gear races toward downtown Keystone City.

BART CAP (indicating BART's internal monologue):

_Think_. I can do that.

Panel 2. BART dashes toward the convention center, which has a sign out front saying "Keystone City Camera Exposition".

BART CAP:

I can I can I can.

Panel 3. The credits space across the middle of the page.

BART ALLEN, DETECTIVE

CREDITS

Panel 4. BART dashes into the vast exposition space, which is full of booths displaying camera equipment and people looking at same.

BART CAP:

Guy said he wanted to direct movies.

Panel 5. BART weaves along one crowded aisle of the trade show. A giant-screen video monitor looks down on the scene.

BART CAP:

Must be here somewhere.

Panel 6. The screen shows BART waving with a goofy grin on his face.

BART CAP:

Hey, I'm on TV!

•

PAGE FIVE (five panels)

Panel 1. BART goes back to running along the aisles.

BART CAP:

Concentrate! Think!

Panel 2. BART comes to a halt beside PETER, the young man who was previously a camera-carrying ninja. He's standing at the corner of a booth full of small video cameras, slipping one into his pocket, and he jumps at seeing BART again.

BART CAP:

Ha! Found him!

BART:

Ha! Found you!

Panel 3. PETER hurriedly empties his pockets of a couple of small cameras he's lifted from display booths, setting them on the nearest table.

PETER:

Hey, I was just checking that these really are _pocket-sized_.

BART:

Yeah, they're neat. I have to talk to you about last night.

Panel 4. BART carries PETER out of the exhibit hall to a secluded corner of the exposition center.

BART:

What's your name?

PETER:

Uh, Hiram. Mintz. Hiram Mintz.

BART CAP:

Okay, what would Batman do?

Panel 5. BART has set PETER down on the floor and is trying to look intimidating. PETER is nodding.

BART:

All right, Hiram, you're gonna contact whoever recruited you for the Tumbler Gang, _see?_ You're gonna say you and a pal are looking for a new job, _see?_ And you're gonna meet me at four o'clock outside the Flash Museum—or I find you again, _see?_

PETER:

Okay.

BART CAP:

Four o'clock. Four o'clock. Remember that.

•

PAGE SIX (five panels)

Panel 1. BART is hanging out near the front entrance of the Flash Museum. He is dressed in aviator sunglasses, an oversized parka whose hood hides his face, baggy jeans, and Timberland boots of tremendous size. A family glances at him as they go in, but he doesn't notice.

BART CAP:

Four o'clock.

BART CAP:

I am a master of disguise.

Panel 2. PETER arrives and greets BART.

PETER:

Yo, 2005 called. It wants its gangbanger back.

BART:

What?

PETER:

Never mind. I set up a meeting with Jimmy the Sausage Man.

Panel 3. PETER and BART walk away together.

BART:

So this _Sausage Man_ is boss of the Tumbler Gang?

PETER:

No, he's like a _casting director_. Rogues call him when they want extra henchmen fast. When they want to _link up_, get it?

BART CAP:

Slow. Slow. Walk slow.

Panel 4. PETER and BART are walking through a seedier neighborhood. Locals stare at BART's outfit.

BART:

So the Sausage Man hired those _ninjas_?

PETER:

Naw, he just linked up some _guys_. I found those ninja costumes in a shop on 14th. They made the scene look so much _cooler_.

BART CAP:

Keep blending in.

Panel 5. PETER leads BART into a storefront office with the sign "Sausage Imports & Exports."

BART:

How'd the Sausage Man find _you_?

PETER:

Hey, he needed to film the action, and I have a _rep _for quality work.

PETER:

And he's my uncle.

•

PAGE SEVEN (six panels)

Panel 1. PETER uses his key to open the door and leads BART into the storefront. There are big photographs and posters of sausages on the walls, but no actual meat products, just an ordinary office setup. UNCLE JIMMY calls from the back room.

UNCLE JIMMY (off panel):

We're closed! All the packing factories are shut down for salmonella!

PETER:

It's me, Uncle Jimmy!

BART CAP:

Stay slow. Maintain your cover.

Panel 2. UNCLE JIMMY rushes out of the back toward PETER. His face is tense, his toupee askew. BART is hanging back, trying to act cool, be the scary silent type, and take everything in.

UNCLE JIMMY:

Peter! Thank goodness you're okay! That job with the camera--it's _bigger_ than I thought!

BART CAP:

"Peter"? Have to ask Hiram about that.

Panel 3. PETER tries to introduce BART to UNCLE JIMMY, who takes little notice.

PETER:

If the job needs more guys, I brought a pal. His name is, um…

BART:

George Jaxon.

BART CAP:

Keep alert. Notice everything.

Panel 4. UNCLE JIMMY tugs PETER over to the desk, trying to explain.

UNCLE JIMMY:

No, that wasn't just the usual Rogues. It was the government!

PETER:

What government?

UNCLE JIMMY:

The _secret _government!

BART CAP:

Stand still. Look ominous. Be scary.

Panel 5. UNCLE JIMMY and PETER are grabbing each other by the shoulders. BART spies his faint reflection in the framed poster behind the desk.

UNCLE JIMMY:

Powerful people are out to silence me!

PETER:

Uncle Jimmy! Your doctor told you not to get expositional!

BART CAP:

Can see my reflection in that poster.

Panel 6. UNCLE JIMMY slumps against the desk, one hand on his toupee.

UNCLE JIMMY:

I'm sorry I pulled _you_ into this, Peter! But we Karlsons have to pull _together!_

BART CAP:

It'd be so cool if I had a cape.

•

PAGE EIGHT (one panel)

Panel 1. Full-page panel. PETER and UNCLE JIMMY react with shock as a line of machine gun bullets from the street tear through the shop window and into the back of BART's parka. His figure starts to topple forward under the onslaught.


	3. Following the Equator

**Following the Equator **

PAGE ONE (six panels)

Panel 1. BART, dressed in his clever disguise of an oversized parka and jeans, stands in the Sausage Man's storefront office. In a background corner, UNCLE JIMMY is slumping against his desk, gripping his toupee and complaining to his nephew, PETER. In the framed poster behind him, BART can see his reflection and an image of the street behind him, with a car entering the frame.

CAP:

3.5 seconds earlier…

BART CAP (caption showing BART's internal monologue):

Car.

Panel 2. The car moves further into the frame, revealing a machine gun barrel stuck out the back passenger window. BART's eyes grow wide, though otherwise he doesn't move. UNCLE JIMMY and PETER are the same.

BART CAP:

Gun!

Panel 3. A line of machine gun bullets flies from the gun toward the window, the first piercing the glass. BART zips out of his oversized clothing, leaving it standing on its own and leaving himself in his Kid Flash uniform.

SFX:

Popopopopopopopop!

BART CAP:

Bullets!

Panel 4. BART's arms whirl through the air as he grabs the bullets and larger shards of glass. His disguise, the parka pierced by bullets, starts to collapse. The car continues to roll along the road.

SFX:

Krasssh!

BART CAP:

Shards of glass!

Panel 5. BART deposits a heaping handful of bullets and pieces of glass on UNCLE JIMMY's desk. UNCLE JIMMY and PETER are just now showing shock at the sound of gunfire. BART's clothing hits the floor in a heap. The car outside speeds away.

SFX:

Krssh! Tinkle tinkle.

BART CAP:

Hot! Sharp! No gloves!

Panel 6. BART's trail shows that he has leaped through the gaping hole in the window and run off after the ASSASSINS. PETER and UNCLE JIMMY stare at the scene, aghast.

BART CAP:

Go! Go!

•

PAGE TWO (four panels)

Panel 1. UNCLE JIMMY and PETER stand in the Sausage Man office, now with a shattered front window, a pile of machine gun bullets and glass on the desk, and a heap of clothing on the floor. UNCLE JIMMY is remonstrating with his nephew, but PETER is a bit smug.

UNCLE JIMMY:

You brought a _Flash_ to my _office?!_

HIRAM:

_I_ think it turned out to be a very _good_ idea.

Panel 2. BART darts after the assassins' car, not following directly but zigzagging across the street behind it from one hiding-place to another.

BART CAP:

Not too close.

BART CAP:

Don't let them spot me.

BART CAP:

Track 'em to their lair.

Panel 3. The car turns into a parking garage beneath a nondescript office building. BART watches from afar.

BART CAP:

Ha!

Panel 4. BART dashes into the garage, zipping under a metal security door as it closes. The door has a government seal and the initials "W.S.O." on it.

BART CAP:

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

•

PAGE THREE (three panels)

Panel 1. BART spots the two men from the car entering the building through the right side of a double door. The left side is wide open.

BART CAP:

Like to see _Batman_ do any better!

Panel 2. BART races into the left side of the double door, disappearing into an energy field.

Panel 3. BART races out of a similar energy field in the middle of a rocky desert with mountains in the distance. It's a clear moonlit night.

BART CAP:

This is some lair.

TITLE:

FOLLOWING THE EQUATOR

CREDITS

•

PAGE FOUR (nine panels)

Panel 1. BART races around the rocky landscape.

BART CAP:

Desert?

Panel 2. BART rescues a baby Bactrian (two-hump) camel being menaced by wolves.

BART CAP:

The Gobi Desert?

Panel 3. BART spots a herd of Bactrian camels and horses and a wide circular tent.

BART CAP:

Mongolia?

Panel 4. BART delivers the baby camel to the herd, which is overseen by a teen-aged Mongolian boy. Dawn is starting to break.

BART CAP:

Have I read any Mongolian?

Panel 5. As the teenager gratefully checks the baby camel, BART tentatively tries the one Mongolian word he's learned.

BART:

Uh, _yurt?_

Panel 6. The teenager, smiling, welcomes BART to a yurt, where the whole MONGOLIAN FAMILY greets him happily.

BART:

Genghis Kahn!

MONGOLIAN FAMILY:

Genghis Kahn!

Panel 7. The MONGOLIAN FAMILY offers BART a large bowl of their national dish--a mildly alcoholic yogurt made from fermented mare's milk. BART has his mouth wide open.

MONGOLIAN FAMILY:

_Airag._

BART:

_Airag!_

Panel 8. BART reacts with wide-eyed surprise to the taste of _airag_.

Panel 9. Back outside in the early morning, BART asks a question, and the MONGOLIAN FAMILY point to the east.

BART:

America?

MONGOLIAN FAMILY:

America!

•

PAGE FIVE (six panels)

Panel 1. BART runs back into Keystone City after dark.

BART CAP:

Okay, let's try this again.

Panel 2. BART races up the side of the nondescript office building, determined to get in another way.

BART CAP:

Sneak inside.

Panel 3. BART races into a doorway on the roof, hitting another energy field.

BART CAP:

Open door!

Panel 4. BART ends up in darkness, lit only by stars behind clouds.

BART CAP:

Aw, man!

BART CAP:

So where am I now?

Panel 5. Closeup on BART's feet, sinking into water.

BART CAP:

Feet getting wet.

Panel 6. BART's feet start to run, keeping him atop the water.

BART CAP:

Must be on an ocean. That narrows it down.

•

PAGE SIX (six panels)

Panel 1. BART is running across the surface of an ocean at night, shielding his eyes from the nonexistent sunlight to peer into the distance, and seeing nothing.

BART CAP:

Ten whole minutes. No ships. No land.

Panel 2. Still running, BART pokes the Titans communicator unit strapped to his wrist.

BART CAP:

Phone a friend.

Panel 3. In Titans Tower in San Francisco, GARFIELD LOGAN stumbles out of bed, picking up the emergency communicator.

GAR:

Wha's up?

BART (radio balloon):

Hi, it's Bart! Where am I?

Panel 4. GAR shuffles into the Titans control room, with computers all around and screens on the wall, including a chart of the world.

GAR:

"Where are _you?!" _

BART (radio balloon):

Yeah. You've got some sort of tracking thingie, right?

GAR (muttering to himself):

Which we usually use if someone's totally out of it. So I guess that applies.

Panel 5. BART is still running around the dark ocean.

GAR (radio balloon):

Okay, Kid Flash. For the last fifteen minutes, you've been running in big circles 400K off the coast of Peru.

BART:

Circles? Darn it!

Panel 6. BART zips across the ocean surface into the distance, where dawn is starting to break.

GAR (radio balloon):

You're heading east now.

BART:

Toward land?

GAR:

Yeah. You know your new communicator is a GPS unit, right?

BART:

Cool!

•

PAGE SEVEN (five panels)

Panel 1. About nine o'clock in the morning back at that office building in Keystone City. Office workers are entering the front door.

BART CAP:

Time to _infiltrate_.

Panel 2. BART joins the line of office workers entering the office building. He's once again wearing his disguise of baggy pants and an oversized parka, the bullet holes patched with duct tape.

BART CAP:

Totally undercover.

Panel 3. BART gazes around the building lobby, not sure what to do. Workers are sliding their ID cards through readers on turnstiles and walking through metal detectors under the eyes of security guards. A sign behind the guards' desk says some part of "Weather Surveillance Office". A female SECURITY GUARD hails BART.

BART CAP:

Think. _Think_.

GUARD:

Can I help you, young man?

Panel 4. BART tries to play cool with the GUARD, who checks a clipboard.

BART:

Um, yeah. I'm Jake Dunlap.

GUARD:

You're not on the list for appointments. Are you delivering a package?

BART CAP:

Need a package.

Panel 5. The GUARD grows skeptical as she talks to BART.

BART:

Uh…

GUARD:

All packages have to be left here at the desk.

BART CAP:

Don't need a package.

•

PAGE EIGHT (four panels)

Panel 1. BART throws off his disguise and heads for the turnstiles in his Kid Flash uniform.

BART CAP:

Just run!

Panel 2. BART races into the empty metal detector.

BART CAP:

Go! Go! Go!

Panel 3. BART is still in running position, legs pumping, but no longer in the office building. Instead, he's thousands of miles up in the air, nothing below him but clouds. His eyes register surprise.

BART CAP:

Wha'?

Panel 4. The cloudscape looks just like the previous panel, but the only sign of BART is a whoosh trail pointing down out of the panel.

BART CAP:

Oh, come _on!_


	4. A Tramp Abroad

**A Tramp Abroad**

PAGE ONE (six tall panels)

Panel 1. BART is plunging through the air from, say, 20,000 feet. He's pumping his legs frantically.

BART CAP:

Okay, this is bad.

Panel 2. Long shot of BART, still pumping, still falling.

BART CAP:

Air too thin to create a cushion.

Panel 3. Close up on BART's face as he really starts to worry.

BART CAP:

Too thin to breathe?

Panel 4. BART's face changes to a look of determination. He starts to twist and swim in midair.

BART CAP:

Can't get hysterical!

Panel 5. BART has turned himself so he's plunging headfirst with his mouth open.

BART CAP:

Get all the oxygen I can.

Panel 6. BART disappears into a dark puffy rain cloud.

BART CAP:

I'm not hysterical, but I'm wet.

•

PAGE TWO (five panels)

Panel 1. Inside the rain cloud with BART. He's in a metaphorical as well as physical fog, and still falling.

BART CAP:

Think. _Think!_

Panel 2. BART tumbles out of the cloud and sees more puffy clouds below him.

BART CAP:

Cumulus clouds form at the top of thermal updrafts.

Panel 3. BART starts swirling his arms and kicking his legs horizontally.

BART CAP:

Can't stop falling, but I can push myself sideways.

Panel 4. BART plunges into another cumulus cloud, limbs spread wide.

BART CAP:

Find the center.

Panel 5. BART stops falling so quickly, shown by his hair and whoosh lines.

BART CAP:

Deceleration!

•

PAGE THREE (five panels)

Panel 1. BART is now below the cloud, kicking his feet underneath him to slow his descent. In the far distance behind him, a large airliner is headed his way.

BART CAP:

Okay, that bought some time.

Panel 2. BART is still falling slowly. Airplane is larger, recognizable now.

BART CAP:

This would be so much easier with a Legion flight ring.

Panel 3. Plane is huge, and BART is on a near-collision course with the middle of one wing.

BART CAP:

Hard to think with that roar.

Panel 4. BART's feet touch down on one of the airplane's wings.

SFX:

_Thunk _

BART CAP:

Ooh!

Panel 5. BART races along the wing toward the fuselage. A PASSENGER is peering out a window at him, stunned.

PILOT (balloon pointed toward the cockpit):

Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some slight turbulence.

BART CAP:

Knew I'd think of something!

•

PAGE FOUR (four panels)

Panel 1. Inside the plane's cabin, the PASSENGER has grabbed a FLIGHT ATTENDANT and is gesturing frantically to the window, though there's no sign of BART outside now.

PASSENGER:

There was someone _running on the wing!_

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:

Sir, we all saw that.

Panel 2. The PASSENGER shows surprise at the FLIGHT ATTENDANT's nonchalance while her expression turns more severe.

PASSENGER:

You all saw the kid on the wing?

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:

No, we all saw that _Twilight Zone_ episode.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:

You, sir, are not William Shatner…

Panel 3. Exterior image of the airplane with BART running along the top of it.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT (off panel):

…and there is no creature riding on this airplane.

BART CAP:

An Airbus A380. Cruising airspeed of Mach .85.

BART CAP:

Long as I run the same speed, I won't get blown off.

BART CAP:

Wonder where we're going.

Panel 4. Credits space.

Title:

A TRAMP ABROAD

CREDITS

•

PAGE FIVE (five panels)

Panel 1. The plane is coming in for a landing at Dublin International Airport. BART is still happily jogging along the top.

BART CAP:

I am the _king_ of surviving falls from a great height.

Panel 2. The plane is taxiing to the terminal. BART sits on top, oblivious to the ground crew members pointing to him, trying to communicate with the pilots.

PILOT (balloon from cockpit):

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dublin.

BART: Cool.

Panel 3. Overhead view of BART peering down from the top of the plane, seeing no way to run down to the ground.

BART CAP:

You don't realize how tall these things are until you're standing on one.

Panel 4. The plane approaches the terminal with its boarding tunnels sticking out. Security teams are racing out to the plane, but BART, still standing on top, can't see them.

Panel 5. BART zips from the top of the plane to the roof of the nearest boarding tunnel and over to the terminal building as the security teams watch in surprise.

BART CAP:

Time to hit the food court!

•

PAGE SIX (seven panels)

Panel 1. BART stands, looking sheepish, surrounded by security people and airport managers. JAY GARRICK in his Flash uniform is shaking hands with an airport executive. Green Lantern ALAN SCOTT is shaking hands with guards and waving.

JAY:

…and I assure you, it won't happen again.

Panel 2. ALAN SCOTT is flying JAY and BART back across the Atlantic in a big green bench seat from a 1970s car.

JAY:

You shut down Dublin International Airport.

BART:

Hey, _I_ didn't make that decision.

Panel 3. Closer on JAY and BART's serious talk.

JAY:

So when security finally _got_ your attention, why did you refuse to go through the metal detectors?

BART:

I've had a very bad day with metal detectors!

Panel 4. BART tries to explain to JAY, who's heard stuff like this before.

BART:

See, I'm in the middle of a tough investigation!

JAY:

An investigation? *sigh*

JAY:

Bart, have you read what Einstein said about trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

Panel 5. Close up on BART's know-it-all face.

BART:

Actually, I never saw those words in Einstein's published writing. They first appeared in a book by Rita Mae Brown, so--

Panel 6. BART's face turns rueful.

BART:

That's not what you're asking about, is it?

Panel 7. Longer shot of ALAN SCOTT flying with JAY and BART on the bench across the Midwest landscape, headed to Keystone. There are long shadows as the day ends.

JAY:

No, Bart.

JAY:

I'm asking you to _think _about how so many of your "investigations" turn out.

JAY:

When we get home, Wally has news.

•

PAGE SEVEN (seven panels)

Panel 1. In JAY GARRICK's house. If there's a window, it's twilight outside. WALLY WEST in his Flash uniform, mask pushed back, is explaining something to BART as JAY looks on. BART is acting wary and defensive.

WALLY:

While you were missing--

BART:

Investigating.

WALLY:

--the chief of the Weather Surveillance Office contacted me.

Panel 2. BART perks up, but WALLY wants him to listen.

BART:

Oooh, the machine-gun guys went in there!

WALLY:

Bart, please. It's a government agency that manages weather satellite data and technology.

WALLY:

I went to the W.S.O. building…

Panel 3. Flashback to WALLY's appointment in a nondescript upper-level bureaucrat's office. He wears the full Flash uniform. The W.S.O. CHIEF is a no-nonsense middle-aged woman in a crisp jacket and skirt. The INSPECTOR GENERAL is a burly man in a suit. Both look ex-military.

WALLY CAP:

…to meet with the local chief and inspector general.

CHIEF:

One of our contract employees--Francis Paul Reid--accidentally intercepted a transmission from the Justice League satellite.

Panel 4. Flashback continues. WALLY is looking concerned, writing notes swiftly.

INSPECTOR GENERAL:

Reid realized he had info about the Justice League's duty schedule. He tried to take advantage by organizing a burglary and a break-in at your house.

CHIEF:

But your assistant caught those men.

Panel 5. Close up of BART's face, looking proud.

Panel 6. Flashback scene in the office again.

CHIEF:

Reid tried to cover his tracks by killing his contact in the Keystone City underworld.

INSPECTOR GENERAL:

By chance, Kid Flash was on the scene again.

Panel 7. Another close up of BART's face, this time exasperated.

BART:

It wasn't just chance!

•

PAGE EIGHT (seven panels)

Panel 1. In JAY's house, BART has jumped up, ready for action.

BART:

So they must have caught this Reid guy!

WALLY:

When the inspector general found him this morning, he had committed suicide.

Panel 2. JAY and WALLY look rueful, and even BART is a little subdued.

BART:

Oh.

BART:

But what about the _teleporters?!_

JAY:

Teleporters?

Panel 3. Evening. BART and WALLY arrive at the top of the W.S.O. building, with JAY a few steps behind. The teleporter that BART ran through in the last installment is no longer there.

BART:

There was a _teleporter!_ Right there!

BART:

And _two more _downstairs! At least!

Panel 4. BART continues his rooftop explanation as WALLY and JAY exchange skeptical looks.

BART:

Every time I tried to run into this building, I got teleported _thousands of miles away! _

JAY:

And how many times last month did you go running and lose track of how far you'd gone?

Panel 5. WALLY, JAY, and BART are running back home.

BART:

Only four times! Okay, thirteen.

BART:

But I can't run 20,000 feet _into the air!_

JAY:

No, you can't, Bart. You're grounded.

Panel 6. Close up of BART's angry face.

BART:

_What?! _

Panel 7. Standing outside JAY's house, BART is protesting to JAY and the world. JAY is adamant, and WALLY calls back as he speeds away.

BART:

What about my _investigation?! _

WALLY:

There is no investigation anymore, Bart. There's nothing to investigate.


	5. Pudd’nhead Allen

**Pudd'nhead Allen**

PAGE ONE (five panels)

Panel 1. BART ALLEN is sitting on a bench outside the Flash Museum, wearing his Kid Flash outfit and moping. In the background, a family of tourists points and takes a cameraphone picture, but doesn't come near.

PETER (off panel):

And…action!

Panel 2. Title and credits space.

TITLE:

PUDD'NHEAD ALLEN

CREDITS

Panel 3. BART turns and sees PETER KARLSON filming him with the camera he was carrying in the first episode.

PETER:

I thought I'd find you here! You recognize my new camera? It's the one I was using that first time we met.

Panel 4. PETER shows off his camera. He's a lot more excited about it than BART, but BART's not feeling excited about anything just now.

PETER:

My uncle Jimmy gave it to me. He was grateful for, you know, not getting _shot_.

BART:

That's nice, Hiram.

Panel 5. PETER sits down beside BART.

PETER:

You can call me Peter. I guess you hang out here a lot.

BART:

Right now my guardian says I can go out only if it's _educational_.

•

PAGE TWO (six panels)

Panel 1. PETER rolls his eyes as he speaks of the museum, and BART is not pleased by what he hears.

PETER:

Yeah, this place is so _educational_, it's a _total bore_.

BART:

What?!

Panel 2. PETER stands up and elaborates while panning across the museum facade.

PETER:

I mean, it was fun coming here in _first and second grade_, but then _third_, and _fourth_, and _fifth_…

PETER:

You grow up in Keystone, you have a field trip here _every year!_

Panel 3. PETER continues his rant, and BART tries to make a modest point.

PETER:

And it's always the same. All the exhibits say the Flashes are fast--very fast! _We get it! _

BART:

They added an _Impulse_ case.

PETER:

And _that_ was lame. A guitar and a rag!

Panel 4. BART is feeling even worse now, and he knows he can't say anything. PETER has really gotten rolling.

PETER:

They put up a statue of some _new_ Flash, Bart Allen…

Panel 5. PETER unknowingly rolls right over BART's feelings.

PETER:

…but last month they took it _down_. I guess he didn't _really_ die. All a _hoax_ or something.

PETER:

It's a museum about guys who run, right? But it's full of statues that _don't move at all!_

Panel 6. As PETER speaks, fiddling with his camera, BART's face brightens and a movie spotlight turns on in a thought balloon over his head.

PETER:

They need _interactive_ stuff. They need _movies! _

•

PAGE THREE (six panels)

Panel 1. BART has jumped up and grabbed PETER.

BART:

Ooh, I got an idea! _You_ could make a _new movie _for the Flash Museum--an _educational_ movie--that _blows everything else away! _

PETER:

Movie, sure! But about what?

Panel 2. BART poses smugly.

BART:

About _me_.

Panel 3. BART imagines a title in the air.

BART:

_Kid Flash Investigates!_ Like _C*O*P*S_, except faster!

Panel 4. Crackle between panels. BART has carried PETER to the Keystone Precious Metals Exchange. PETER films as BART poses in front of the building and speaks to the camera.

BART:

This is where I caught the Tumbler Gang even before they could break into the building!

Panel 5. Crackle between panels. BART is standing in front of the Sausage Man's storefront, acting out how he snatched the bullets from the air. The window is now covered with plywood, and a sign saying "Open While We Renovate" hangs on the front door.

BART:

And here's where I laid a trap for the people behind the Tumbler Gang! They tried to kill two of my _confidential informants_, but I caught their bullets and tracked them to…

Panel 6. Crackle between panels. BART is standing in front of the W.S.O. building. A truck with "W.S.O." on the side is coming out of the parking garage. PETER is filming once again.

BART:

…this government agency, that's _supposed_ to be about weather but which turned out to be _infiltrated with moles!_ And _teleporters!_

•

PAGE FOUR (six panels)

Panel 1. PETER tries to draw BART out while filming, and BART reacts with the leftover indignation of not being believed by WALLY and JAY.

PETER:

Teleporters?

BART:

_Yes_, there were _teleporters!_

Panel 2. BART lets it all out, zipping around and pointing dramatically.

BART:

One in the basement! One on the roof! And one in the lobby beside the metal detectors!

BART:

But when I came back with Flashes, they were all _gone! _

Panel 3. BART regains his cool and is once again the serious investigator speaking to the movie audience.

BART:

So now the _mystery_ I'm _investigating_ is how those teleporters were _removed_.

Panel 4. BART and PETER peer after the W.S.O. truck, which is turning a corner on one of Keystone's long, straight streets.

Panel 5. BART and PETER look at each other, two minds with but a single thought.

Panel 6. BART chases after the truck, carrying PETER in his arms. PETER is trying to film the action.

BART:

You getting all this?

PETER:

It's just gonna be a blur!

•

PAGE FIVE (five panels)

Panel 1. BART is carrying PETER on a chase after the truck through the city streets toward a highway interchange. They're discovering creative differences.

PETER:

You gotta stop darting around!

BART:

Then the driver would spot me!

Panel 2. The truck is on a long flat Midwestern highway, and BART with PETER follows at a distance.

PETER:

The camera keeps bouncing!

BART:

Look--what's your frame rate?

PETER:

Thirty a second.

Panel 3. Up ahead, the truck is turning off on an exit. BART holding PETER holding the camera has started to run with little baby steps.

BART:

Okay, I'm running thirty steps a second. Better?

PETER:

Smooth!

Panel 4. The truck pulls up at a warehouse in a deserted industrial park well outside Keystone City. On a nearby rise, PETER is filming BART talking to the camera as PETER films.

BART:

Okay! I've tracked the W.S.O. truck to this _secret_ warehouse in…some other town. Next I'm going to run down to see _what's in that truck_.

Panel 5. BART Is half cut off by the panel border as PETER has started to ignore him to peer down at the warehouse through his camera.

BART:

This could be _risky_--

PETER:

No need. I'm zooming in on the loading dock.

•

PAGE SIX (seven panels)

Panel 1. BART has darted to PETER's side behind the camera.

BART:

Ooh, can I see?

PETER:

No. They're taking something off the truck.

BART:

Can I see?

PETER:

No.

Panel 2. PETER continues to peer while BART reacts with exasperation.

PETER:

It looks like a metal detector.

BART:

It's a _teleporter!_

Panel 3. PETER tries to direct BART's action, and BART waves him off.

PETER:

Okay, when you attack, I want you to run in from the right--

BART:

Peter, please! I'm _investigating_. I'm not gonna just run down and _hit_ people.

PETER:

But that'll look so cool!

Panel 4. BART and PETER take a moment for a deep breath. They are on opposite sides of the panel, facing away from each other and rolling their eyes in mutual exasperation. In the distance behind them, the W.S.O. truck is pulling away from the building.

BART (under his breath):

Directors!

PETER (under his breath):

Talent!

Panel 5. BART picks up PETER.

BART:

Okay, now that the W.S.O. guys are leaving, I can _investigate_ inside.

PETER:

Finally! We're losing the light.

Panel 6. BART arrives at the steel door of the loading dock with PETER in his arms. A steel sign is bolted to the wall beside the door with "Protected by Abelson Alarms" and trademark on it.

BART:

Uh-oh.

PETER:

Now what?

Panel 7. BART has dumped PETER on the loading dock and is pointing to the alarm company's sign.

BART:

Abelson alarms work by picking up sounds.

•

PAGE SEVEN (five panels)

Panel 1. BART tells PETER to stay put.

BART:

That means _you_ gotta stay outside. No narrating, no camera whir--

PETER:

It's digital!

Panel 2. BART has started to vibrate through the steel door into the warehouse. He gives PETER a not-really-rueful smile.

BART:

And definitely no yelling.

BART:

I'll tell you what I find.

Panel 3. BART dashes around inside the warehouse, which is full of advanced technology with little connection to meteorology. There's an inert giant robot, a hovercraft, a bathysphere, the lost ark of the covenant, half a dozen teleporters, and lots of other powerful-looking, vaguely familiar machines and devices--particularly stuff related to Justice League cases.

BART CAP (captions showing BART's thoughts):

At last I can _think_.

BART CAP:

Peter's a nice guy…

BART CAP:

…but you gotta be so _patient_ with him.

BART CAP:

Wish _I_ had a giant robot.

Panel 4. BART continues to explore, walking on tiptoe. He finds a rack of laser guns of the sort the ninjas used in breaking into the Wests' house..

BART CAP:

More of those laser thingies.

BART CAP:

It's like a warehouse club for evil scientists.

Panel 5. Still on tiptoe, BART gets to one of the corners of the warehouse.

BART CAP:

Why would weather people keep all this stuff?

BART CAP:

Unless they're secretly working for some bad guy.

•

PAGE EIGHT (one panel)

Panel 1. BART has come around a corner to find a muscular figure in an ominous black cowl and cape, a red shirt with bandoliers crisscrossing his chest. BART doesn't recognize him, but this stranger is TIM DRAKE as Red Robin. He's been examining a room-sized device labeled "Time Travel Prototype," and turns toward BART in a crouch, ready for a fight.

BART CAP:

_Some bad guy! _


	6. The Mysterious Stranger

**The Mysterious Stranger **

PAGE ONE (three panels)

Panel 1. Large picture of TIM DRAKE as Red Robin in a fighting crouch beside a time-travel device in the Weather Surveillance Office's secret warehouse. BART ALLEN as Kid Flash, who has never seen this masked man before, runs toward him with a fist cocked to punch.

Panel 2. Title and credits.

TITLE:

THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER

CREDITS

Panel 3. Small inset picture formed by peeling back the lower right corner of the big picture. It shows a bearded, middle-aged comic-book publisher named DAN DIDIO.

DAN DIDIO:

Excuse me. Sorry. Just a quick announcement.

•

PAGE TWO (five panels)

Panel 1. DAN DIDIO sits at his desk, speaking to the audience, in the manner made famous by Lorne Michaels on the first season of _Saturday Night Live. _He holds up a copy of _Detective_, #27.

DAN DIDIO:

Since the earliest superhero comic books, many covers and splash pages have misrepresented the stories they introduced. Those images were crafted for maximum drama to sell magazines, and they didn't always depict scenes accurately.

Panel 2. DAN DIDIO tosses _Detective_, #27, over his shoulder and holds up a copy of _World's Finest_, #109, showing Batman attacking Superman.

DAN DIDIO:

In the 1960s, the industry discovered that showing two heroes fighting each other could raise sales. Those covers appealed to fans of both heroes, and addressed such vital questions as, "Who would win--Captain Marvel, Jr., or Pantha?"

Panel 3. DAN DIDIO opens the magazine to show how its story actually proceeds, though of course the images are too small for this to be useful.

EDITOR (off panel):

CMJ!

ART DIRECTOR (off panel):

Pantha!

DAN DIDIO:

In almost every case, those confrontations resulted from mind control or misunderstandings, and the fights were inconclusive. After a few panels of tussling, the heroes realized their common goals and united against a foe.

Panel 4. Having tossed aside the second magazine, DAN DIDIO holds up a copy of the preceding page of this very story, which has been printed out for him and crayoned by an assistant.

DAN DIDIO:

This story began with a splash panel showing Kid Flash and Red Robin about to fight. Readers may expect this image to be as misleading as so many others, and wait for Bart Allen and Tim Drake to hug out their differences and work together.

Panel 5. DAN DIDIO, hands folded on the desk before him, addresses the readers seriously.

DAN DIDIO:

As a public service, we must dispel this assumption. In this story, two young heroes fight until one is incapacitated. They _don't_ team up, and they _don't_ hug. We hope that this announcement prevents crushing disappointment. And we thank you for your support.

•

PAGE THREE (five panels)

Panel 1. BART runs at TIM, his fist ready to hit, while TIM puts a finger across his lips.

BART CAP (expressing BART's thoughts):

Yeah, scary guy, I know about the sound sensors.

Panel 2. TIM easily ducks under BART's swing.

BART CAP:

How?

Panel 3. BART swings again, and TIM again dodges and shoves BART in the chest.

BART CAP:

It's like he _knows my moves._

Panel 4. TIM unfolds his bo staff as BART prepares for another run.

BART CAP:

He has a stick thingie like Tim's.

Panel 5. TIM thrusts his staff betwen BART's feet, tripping him up as he starts to charge.

BART CAP:

I _hate_ stick thingies.

•

PAGE FOUR (three panels)

Panel 1. Having stumbled forward, BART reaches between TIM's boots for the tail of his cape.

BART CAP:

Okay, scary guy with cape…

Panel 2. BART straightens up, yanking up on TIM's cape.

BART CAP:

…here's the move that _saved the universe! _

Panel 3. TIM is in midair, using BART's yank to backflip and kicking BART in the chest as he goes over.

BART CAP:

How'd he _do_ that?

•

PAGE FIVE (six panels)

Panel 1. BART's point of view as TIM lands lightly on his feet.

BART CAP:

Or _that?_

Panel 2. BART's point of view as TIM charges forward, a device in one hand.

BART CAP:

Now what?

Panel 3. Bright flash flooding the panel with light.

BART CAP:

_Can't see!_

Panel 4. As BART feels in front of himself blindly, TIM dodges around to his side and whispers in one ear.

TIM (very small letters in a big whisper balloon):

Bart.

Panel 5. BART twists away frantically, arms flailing at super speed.

BART CAP:

He knows my _name!_

Panel 6. BART's point of view as he turns back to TIM, his vision coming back into focus but still blurry. We see Red Robin in his black cowl, still crouched for fighting, mouth in a frown--undeniably threatening.

BART CAP:

He's a _mole!_

•

PAGE SIX (five panels)

Panel 1. BART charges toward TIM, who's once again holding one finger over his lips.

BART CAP:

Spying on the JLA! Collecting super weapons!

Panel 2. TIM has used BART's momentum to flip him over one leg. BART starts to slide across the warehouse floor toward a rack of laser guns of the sort the house-invading ninjas carried.

BART CAP:

Have to think of a _new move!_ Something he's _never seen me do!_

Panel 3. BART has grabbed one of the laser guns and is trying to fire it at TIM, to no effect.

SFX:

Click. Click.

BART CAP:

Something that _works!_

Panel 4. Abandoning the laser gun, BART races around the giant robot.

BART CAP:

Think. _Think!_

Panel 5. In a low crouch, BART runs up behind TIM and grabs him at the knees.

•

PAGE SEVEN (four panels)

Panel 1. BART whirls around and around, holding TIM by his knees so his upper body is stretched out horizontally by centrifugal momentum.

BART CAP:

Twelve revolutions per second.

Panel 2. BART slows down his spin, and TIM sags, unconscious.

BART CAP:

Ha! The _G-force_ knocked him out!

Panel 3. BART has laid TIM on the floor and is tugging at the black Red Robin cowl.

BART CAP:

Okay, scary guy, let's see who you _really_ are.

Panel 4. BART has removed the cowl and recognized his unconscious friend.

BART (shouting in oversized letters):

_**Tim!**_

•

PAGE EIGHT (one panel)

Panel 1. View from the ceiling. BART's shout has triggered the warehouse alarm system. Steel panels slam down over the windows. Claxons sound. Lights whirl. BART gazes around frantically as TIM lies unconscious on the floor.

SFX (steel shutter):

Slam!

SFX (steel shutter):

Slam!

SFX (claxon):

EEEH EEEH EEEH EEEH EEEH

W.S.O. CHIEF (recording from p.a. system):

You have intruded onto Weather Surveillance Office property. Security forces are on their way. Do not move. Do not attempt to escape. You have intruded…


	7. The Gilded Age

**The Gilded Age **

PAGE ONE (four panels)

Panel 1. Inside the weapons-crammed W.S.O. warehouse, BART picks up the unconscious and unmasked TIM as an alarm sounds and ceiling-mounted lasers zap the floor around them.

SFX:

EEEH EEEH EEEH EEEH

CHIEF (recorded, over p.a. system):

…Security forces are on their way. Do not move…

SFX:

Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

BART CAP (expressing BART's thoughts):

Got to get Tim out.

Panel 2. Carrying TIM, BART has run to the nearest wall, and is vibrating one hand in the wall, but electricity snaps at him.

SFX:

EEEH EEEH EEEH EEEH

CHIEF (recorded, over p.a. system):

…Do not attempt to escape.

SFX:

Zzzzt!

BART CAP:

Whole wall's electrified. Can't vibrate through.

Panel 3. Carrying TIM, BART dashes away from that spot just before lasers hit the wall there, leaving a smoking scar.

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt!

BART CAP:

But they forgot one exit…

Panel 4. BART runs with TIM into the teleporter that looks like a metal detector.

BART CAP:

…the _teleporter!_

•

PAGE TWO (three panels)

Panel 1. BART carries TIM out the other side of the teleporter, still in the warehouse. The teleporter's power cord isn't connected to anything.

BART CAP:

Never a working teleporter when you need one!

Panel 2. BART carries TIM to a quiet corner of the warehouse as lasers zap the teleporter.

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt!

BART CAP:

Sound sensors guiding the lasers.

Panel 3. BART lays TIM on the floor in a narrow aisle of the warehouse. He's pulled TIM's cowl back over his face unevenly (with some of TIM's shaggy hair sticking out the front).

TIM (quiet moan):

Unnh.

BART (whispering to TIM):

Be very quiet.

BART (whispering):

They're hunting Robins.

•

PAGE THREE (four panels)

Panel 1. BART runs away from TIM, shouting to attract the sensors that control the lasers.

BART:

Hey!

BART:

_Over here!_

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!

Panel 2. BART dashes through the warehouse, chased by blasts from the ceiling-mounted lasers.

BART:

La la la la la!

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt!

Panel 3. BART flattens himself against an exterior wall of the warehouse.

BART:

_Here! Right here! _

BART CAP:

It really, really _hurts_ to vibrate through laser beams…

Panel 4. Three or four laser beams zero in on BART, zapping through him as he vibrates, gritting his teeth.

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!

BART CAP:

…but _I can do it!_

•

PAGE FOUR (four panels)

Panel 1. View from outside the warehouse, where it's now evening. The lasers have cut through the wall, and BART tumbles out backwards.

SFX:

Zzzt! Zzzt!

Panel 2. BART rolls to his feet, still shaky.

CHIEF (off panel):

Don't run, Kid Flash.

Panel 3. BART looks up to find a Weather Surveillance Office security team, guns bristling. Detained in the middle of them, with guns pointed at him, is PETER. The INSPECTOR GENERAL stands at the left, holding PETER's camera. The CHIEF is on the right.

CHIEF:

You're under the authority of the Weather Surveillance Office.

Panel 4. Closer view of the INSPECTOR GENERAL with the camera, PETER under arrest, and the W.S.O. CHIEF.

INSPECTOR GENERAL:

I erased their video.

PETER (to BART):

Don't worry, dude! I hit _Upload_ just before they grabbed me!

CHIEF:

Upload? To where?

•

PAGE FIVE (three panels)

Panel 1. A blur races past the security team, grabbing all their guns.

WALLY (not recognizable in the blur):

To _our_ system.

Panel 2. Big panel. BARRY ALLEN as the Flash suddenly stands at BART's side, calmly confronting the W.S.O. team. Ranged behind the armed guards, surrounding them as they surround PETER, is an _ad hoc_ selection of the Justice League, including DICK GRAYSON as Batman, JOHN STEWART as Green Lantern, MARI McCABE as Vixen, ZATANNA ZATARA, or other folks on the current roster who could arrive quickly. BART gazes up at BARRY.

BARRY:

The Justice League of America needs to talk to you, Chief.

BART (little letters):

Grandpa?

Panel 3. Title and credits space.

TITLE:

THE GILDED AGE

CREDITS

•

PAGE SIX (six panels)

Panel 1. The CHIEF responds calmly, walking past BARRY and BART toward a door of the warehouse.

CHIEF:

Certainly, Flash. The W.S.O. is always happy to hear from the J.L.A.

Panel 2. The CHIEF taps a security code into a keyboard beside one of the warehouse doors, unlocking the door and turning off the lasers inside. WALLY WEST in his Flash outfit impatiently zooms up beside her and levels an accusation.

CHIEF:

Let's all step inside.

WALLY:

You told me one of your satellite experts went rogue and planned that attack on my house.

Panel 3. Inside the warehouse, some spots are still smoking from laser strikes. The CHIEF continues to explain calmly.

CHIEF:

Yes, Mr. Reid tried to take advantage of data in transmissions from the Justice League base.

CHIEF:

But he didn't "accidentally intercept a transmission," as I told you. His _job_ was to collect those transmissions.

Panel 4. As the Justice Leaguers react with varying degrees of surprise, the CHIEF continues her explanation. BART has zipped behind her and is pointing to the teleporter.

CHIEF:

The U.S. government chartered the W.S.O. several years ago to keep tabs on the Justice League.

BART:

And they have _teleporters!_

Panel 5. The CHIEF's explanation remains maddeningly calm. Members of the Justice League are gazing around at the weapons and technology in the warehouse.

CHIEF:

Yes, we use teleporters to maximize our security.

CHIEF:

Ours aren't as advanced as yours, but they can transport intruders to uninhabited spots on the globe.

Panel 6. The CHIEF indicates the weapons.

CHIEF:

We collect, disable, and store your enemies' advanced weapons. All of our operations are government-authorized priorities.

BARRY:

Not for long. Tomorrow morning I'll be in Washington, and I _promise_ there will be no funds for your office in next year's budget.

•

PAGE SEVEN (five panels)

Panel 1. The CHIEF disposes of BARRY's threat, not with an air of superiority, but simply laying out the facts.

CHIEF:

We aren't on the budget, Flash. Not even the black budget.

Panel 2. As BART looks on, trying to figure this all out, the CHIEF continues her explanation.

CHIEF:

The W.S.O. operates under federal charter, but it's a "public-private partnership." All our funds come from an independent corporation.

Panel 3. Justice Leaguers react with more surprise and anger.

ZATANNA:

The feds _outsourced_ spying on the J.L.A.?

JOHN STEWART:

Don't they realize how dangerous that could be?

BARRY:

What "partner" are you talking about, Chief?

CHIEF:

WayneTech.

Panel 4. Some Justice League members look at DICK, who touches his forehead in the universal gesture of a man with a headache--in his case, a headache named Bruce.

CHIEF:

WayneTech decrypts and analyzes the data for us. And in return it has first look at all confiscated technology.

Panel 5. As Justice Leaguers gather around DICK GRAYSON, conferring quietly and urgently, BART tugs on his Batman cape.

BART:

Psst.

•

PAGE EIGHT (six panels)

Panel 1. DICK, with some annoyance, responds to BART.

DICK:

What?

BART (quietly, trying to be discreet):

I have to show you something. About Robin.

Panel 2. BART has led DICK to the corner where he left TIM, but now it's empty except for a message scrawled on the wall.

BART:

I left him right--

MESSAGE ON WALL (the last R looks like the R in the Robin logo):

_Kid Flash—_

_Nice to see you. Next time let's say hello._

—_Red R._

Panel 3. BART reacts with surprise while DICK has a small smirk.

BART:

He snuck out without anyone seeing!

DICK:

Annoying, isn't it?

Panel 4. DICK's last words leave BART proud.

DICK:

Good investigation, Kid Flash. But keep the Flashes in the loop, okay?

BART:

Yes, sir.

Panel 5. Back outside as the Justice League and W.S.O. security team are heading back to their headquarters. PETER approaches BART, who's still floating a bit from Batman's compliment.

PETER:

Dude, I got my camera back!

PETER:

So…can you give me a ride home?

Panel 6. Long shot of BART carrying PETER back along the highway to Keystone City.

PETER:

I got great shots of the Justice League!

BART:

This movie's supposed to be about _me_.

PETER:

You _with_ the Justice League.

BART:

_Cool!_


End file.
